We value human connection and caring for people in meaningful ways. Our intentional and purpose-driven strategy creates opportunities and expands human possibilities through investments in people and the communities where we live and work, having an impact that extends beyond our own organization.
To make a greater impact with our resources, we partner with organizations that align with our philanthropic priorities in these four areas:
ROK in Action gives employees worldwide an opportunity to make an impact on their communities in ways that are most meaningful to them. ROK in Action includes:
We focus our investments and our time to help develop people who will be ready to solve the world’s next challenges. To inspire students to pursue a career in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), we concentrate on building a strong educational foundation, especially for young women and underrepresented groups, through programs like FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
Supported programs include FIRST® LEGO League (FLL), a hands-on, STEM learning program designed to inspire young children through fun challenges and competitions using LEGO educational materials, and FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC).This global robotics community prepares young people for the future through inclusive, team-based robotics programs, helping to build the workforce of tomorrow.
Automation enables competitiveness. The ongoing skills gap continues to be a top barrier to competitiveness. Manufacturers identify automation and advanced manufacturing technology as the best route to elevate competitive advantage and mitigate external and internal risk, including climate risk.2 Automation helps address the skills gap by enhancing efficiency, generating new workstream opportunities, and supporting employees’ skill development. There’s more to the talent solution, though.
Creating the future of industrial operations depends on developing workers who have capability and inspiration to work with advanced technologies that will drive more efficient and sustainable industrial operations. We’re helping our customers, and our company reshape the workforce by connecting education pathways, training programs, and students closer than ever to our industry in our expanding ecosystem of partnerships across government, academic institutions, and industry. Our strategy for cultivating the workforce employers need includes upskilling current employees, reskilling military veterans, creating student access to Rockwell certifications and technologies, and supporting centers of innovation
Raising the bar on workforce development Rockwell’s Global Industry-Academia Enablement team continued building pipelines of diverse, qualified workers for our company and our customers. In 2024, we concentrated on making our technology and manufacturing ecosystem even more accessible to high schools, technical, and university programs globally. Our co-investment approach supports our goal of developing long-term partnerships that deliver lasting value in creating a skilled workforce and well-paying careers in advanced manufacturing. Our team also actively participated in industry-academic collaborations around emerging technologies and strategic industries. These centers of innovation are at the forefront of integrating advanced technologies in industrial operations. Rockwell technologies supported technical skills workgroups and reference projects. We contributed thought leadership in areas such as manufacturing execution systems, data analytics, and AI. Through partnerships and inclusive collaboration, we’re helping define and accelerate accessible education that prepares students for success in Industry 4.0 roles
Our expanding partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) in 2024 led to several student-led innovations with practical business applications. Students at the SAP University Competence Center (UCC) at UWM worked with our Plex team to integrate our Plex smart manufacturing platform into SAP, creating new capabilities for executing orders and capturing valuable production and operations data. As one of only five SAP UCCs worldwide, UWM connects with 200 universities globally, enabling students to participate in SAP classroom sessions and app development.
The Connected Systems Institute (CSI) launched Wisconsin’s first-of-its-kind Connected Systems Engineering master’s program at UWM in September to develop a pipeline of future industry leaders. The interdisciplinary program combines engineering, business, and data science with real-world applications. Rockwell is a founding partner of CSI, an academic-private sector ecosystem that empowers the future manufacturing workforce and drives economic development through education, technological advancement, and knowledge leadership. In 2024, CSI launched a hack-a-thon model and completed four unique industry-sponsored events that gave 150+ students project-based advanced manufacturing experience. CSI announced it will house the nation’s first manufacturing-focused AI Co-Innovation Lab.
